Los Cabos continues to showcase its resilience heading into the holidays.
The latest data collected by the Los Cabos Tourism Board and the Hotel Association of Los Cabos reveals the destination has bounced back to overcome several obstacles entering the final quarter of 2017.
"September was a very difficult month. There were natural disasters in Houston, we had a tropical storm and Mexico City suffered an earthquake," Los Cabos Tourism Board managing director, Rodrigo Esponda told TravelPulse.
An updated travel warning issued for Mexico by the U.S. State Department in August also presented challenges for tourism officials. Nonetheless, hotel occupancy in Los Cabos climbed 21 percentage points in October 2017, rising to 61 percent from just 40 percent the previous month.
Visitor arrivals declined for the first time in three years in September before ultimately rebounding by 8.8 percent in October compared to the same period last year. Los Cabos hosted more than 172,000 visitors in October alone and is on track for 5 percent growth in tourist arrivals in 2017.
Revenue per available room (RevPAR) also climbed last month, rising from $90 to $153.
"With repeat guests accounting for 70 percent of our visitors, Los Cabos' resilience is in the destination's DNA, and this new data illustrates that Los Cabos is still on the rise," said Esponda in a statement. "Our strategic growth in hotels, arrivals and occupancy has created a very favorable environment for both tourists and investors who are attracted to the destination's diverse and distinct experiences and are also confident in the destination's long-term potential as a premier destination of choice."
Los Cabos, which added more than 2,800 new hotel rooms over the last year, is on pace to add 4,900 more by 2021.
Esponda points out that there's more for visitors to look forward to beyond new hotels and resorts, notably the upcoming Extreme Sailing Series and the Sabor a Cabo fundraising event. Both are slated for the first week of December.
"The tournament will attract travelers from around the world, whether they're competing or just watching."
Sabor a Cabo will also draw a crowd. The special culinary event is built around world-class food and live music, attracting renowned chefs from around the globe. New Year's in Los Cabos is yet another reason to consider a winter visit, according to Esponda.
As for the travel warning, Los Cabos has already invested more than $47 million on security and developed a comprehensive action plan that includes a new hotel security committee, 200 new surveillance cameras and a marine base.
Esponda and the Los Cabos Tourism Board are also planning to provide travel agents with additional tools to help sell their clients on the booming destination in the future.
"We are planning to launch a website in January 2018 to upload information for travel agents, including itineraries, photos and videos that they can forward to their clients," said Esponda.
"I encourage agents to contact the Los Cabos Tourism Board."
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